Maison des Têtes in Colmar: Visiting the House of Heads
The Maison des Têtes is a short street-level stop in central Colmar, not a museum you tour inside. Its pull is the frontage: a house built in 1609, classed as a monument historique, with 106 carved heads across the facade. Give it ten minutes, take it in on foot, and move on through the old town.
Because the draw is the exterior, this is one of the easiest sights in Colmar to slot into a weekend. It sits on rue des Têtes in the city centre, roughly 1.5 km from the nearest station, so you can walk there straight off a train. Treat it as one panel of a wider wander rather than a half-day out.
What the Maison des Têtes is
The building is a house dating from 1609, and it carries monument historique status. Its fame rests on the sculpted heads decorating the facade, counted at 106. The address is 19 rue des Têtes in Colmar, which puts it squarely in the old centre rather than on the edge of town.
Part of the building operates as a hotel, with 21 rooms, and there is a restaurant on site. That matters for planning: the carved frontage is what a passer-by comes for, while the rooms and dining belong to the business inside. You do not need to be a guest to appreciate the street view.
Where it sits in Colmar
Rue des Têtes runs through the old town, and the nearest station is about 1.5 km away. That is a comfortable walk for anyone arriving by train with a small bag, and it drops you into the historic core almost immediately. From there, the streets around the Koïfhus, the collégiale Saint-Martin and the covered lanes are all within a short stroll.
Colmar's centre is compact enough that the Maison des Têtes works best as a mid-walk landmark rather than a separate excursion. If you are building a route, the official hotel site points visitors towards the medieval old town, the Petite Venise quarter and the Koïfhus as the surrounding sights. Use those as your loop, with the house as one stop on it.
The facade explained
The frontage is early 17th-century, and the heads are carved across it in a band that has made the house a recognisable image of Colmar. Counting them is half the pleasure; the figure usually given is 106. Stand back across the street to take in the whole arrangement rather than peering at one corner.
Photographers will want the full width of the facade, which means positioning yourself on the opposite side of rue des Têtes. Morning light and quieter streets usually help, though the passage is narrow and the house is a working building with people coming and going. Keep the visit brief and let others pass.
How to see it and how long to allow
There is no admission charge to look at the facade from the street; it is a public frontage you view on foot. Plan on around ten minutes for a proper look and a photograph, longer only if you linger over the carving. This is not a building with a visitor route, so do not budget an afternoon for it.
If you want to eat or stay at the Maison des Têtes, those are bookings handled by the hotel rather than part of seeing the house. The hotel's own site sets out its restaurants, including the Brasserie Historique and the Restaurant Girardin, along with contact details for reservations. Check the hotel site for current menus, opening times and availability before you build a meal around it.
Inside the building: hotel, brasserie and restaurant
The Maison des Têtes operates as a hotel with 21 rooms, and it also runs dining rooms. The Brasserie Historique and the Restaurant Girardin are named on the hotel site as the places to eat within the house, which is useful if you want the facade and a meal in one stop. Their menus and service times are published by the hotel, not by the tourist board.
None of that changes the basic calculation for a sightseeing visit: the heads are outside, and the interior belongs to the hotel and its guests and diners. Book directly with the house if you want a table or a room, and treat the address as a landmark first. Rooms are described as combining Alsatian character with modern fittings on the hotel's listing.
Practical notes before you go
The Visit Alsace entry gives the address as 19 rue des Têtes, 68000 Colmar, with the station 1.5 km away. It also flags that opening times and dates can change with circumstances, so confirm anything you intend to book with the establishment itself. For a street facade, there is nothing to reserve.
Payment at the hotel is taken by card, cheque, cash or transfer, according to its listing, but that detail only matters if you are buying something there. For the rest of your day, carry a little cash for small purchases in the old town and keep your plans flexible. Verify restaurant and hotel details on the house's own pages rather than relying on third-party summaries.
Nearby in the old town
The Maison des Têtes sits within a tight cluster of old-town sights. The hotel's own guide names the medieval lanes and timber-framed houses, the Koïfhus or former customs house, the gothic église Saint-Martin and the Petite Venise quarter as the things to see around it. That makes a natural half-day loop on foot.
Maison Pfister and Maison Adolf are singled out as examples of the colombage architecture in the old town, and both are close enough to combine with rue des Têtes in one walk. Walk the Little Venice (La Petite Venise) canals for a change of scene, then loop back through the market streets. If you want a fuller plan, our guide to things to do in Colmar sets out how these pieces fit together.
Nearby museums
Two museums are worth pairing with the old-town walk. The Musée Unterlinden is the city's best-known collection, and the Musée du Jouet is the family-friendly alternative; the hotel site links to both. Neither is inside the Maison des Têtes, so plan them as separate stops with their own timings and tickets.
Because museum hours vary, check the individual museum pages before you set out. Our Unterlinden Museum, Colmar guide covers what is inside and how to approach it, while the Musée du Jouet, Colmar page is the one to open if you are travelling with children. Build the Maison des Têtes stop in between the two, not instead of them.
Fitting it into a Colmar weekend
Treat the Maison des Têtes as one line on a walking loop rather than a destination in its own right. A sensible order is the station, rue des Têtes, the Koïfhus and Saint-Martin, then the Petite Venise canals, with a museum slotted in if the weather turns. That covers the old town in a morning without rushing.
If you only have a weekend, the house is a ten-minute pause that breaks up a stroll and gives you one of the city's signature photographs. It will not fill an afternoon, so plan the rest of the day around the museums and the market streets. Our Colmar Attractions: 6 Visitor Guides page shows where each stop sits in the wider picture, and if you are weighing up a bigger Alsace base, our Strasbourg city guide covers the same old-town-and-canals decision at the region's other showpiece city.
The honest trade-off
The appeal of the Maison des Têtes is concentrated in one facade. If you are expecting rooms to wander, displays to read or a rooftop view, you will be disappointed; the experience is standing in a narrow street and looking up. For that reason, pair it with sights that reward more time, such as the museums or the canals.
Seen in that light, it earns its place: a genuine 1609 building with a distinctive carved front, free to admire from the pavement and close to everything else in the old centre. Set your expectations at a brief pause and it delivers. Plan the day around the town as a whole and let the House of Heads be the punctuation.
Plan Your Visit
Put the Maison des Têtes on your Colmar route for the facade, not for a tour. Check the hotel site for restaurant or room bookings, and look at individual museum pages for their own timings and tickets. Everything else is a short walk away in the old town.
Aim to pass by on a morning walk, take the photograph, then continue to the Koïfhus, Saint-Martin and the canals. If you are arriving by train, the 1.5 km walk from the station puts you in the centre with the house on your way. Build the rest of the weekend around the museums and the streets rather than around this single address.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Maison des Têtes in Colmar?
It is a house built in 1609 at 19 rue des Têtes in central Colmar, listed as a monument historique and known for a facade carved with heads. Part of the building is a hotel with 21 rooms and dining rooms including the Brasserie Historique and the Restaurant Girardin.
How many heads are on the Maison des Têtes facade?
The count commonly given is 106 heads, carved across the early 17th-century frontage. They run in a band across the street elevation, which is why a position on the opposite side of rue des Têtes gives the clearest view of the whole arrangement.
Is the Maison des Têtes free to see?
The carved facade is viewed from the public street, so there is no admission charge for looking at it. Going inside means using the hotel or its restaurants, which are separate bookings made with the house directly.
How long do you need at the Maison des Têtes?
Allow around ten minutes for a proper look and a photograph from across the street. There is no visitor route inside the building, so it is not somewhere to plan a half-day around; build the rest of your day from the surrounding old town.
What else is near the Maison des Têtes in Colmar?
The old-town streets around the Koïfhus, the église Saint-Martin and the Petite Venise quarter are all within a short walk, as are the timber-framed houses such as Maison Pfister and Maison Adolf. The Musée Unterlinden and the Musée du Jouet make useful museum stops on the same loop.
Where is the Maison des Têtes in relation to Colmar station?
The address is 19 rue des Têtes, 68000 Colmar, and the nearest station is about 1.5 km away. That is a walkable distance for most visitors arriving by train, and it brings you into the historic centre directly.